Rita's Peppermint Bark

Many of you know we are lucky enough to live across from local celebrity chef and herbalist Rita Heikenfeld.  She gives me lots of inspiration in the kitchen.  Today I was perusing her blog (Abouteating.com) and came across a holiday treat I had to try: 5-Minute Peppermint Bark.

See her blog for the actual recipe.  Here's a photo journey of my experience making it...

I stopped at Jungle Jim's on my way home from work to pick up white chocolate and candy canes. 

I broke the chocolate into chunks and put it on the stovetop on very low heat.

When it was melty and smooth, I took it off the heat.

Then I added peppermint extract, which smells SO strong!

To crush my candy canes, I put them in a big zip lock bag.

The meat tenderizer has so many uses...

This is what my broken up pieces looked like.

I added a little of the candy cane pieces to the chocolate, along with this rice cereal.

Finally, I spread the mixture on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.

And the cookie sheet went into the fridge to set up.

It smelled fabulous in my kitchen while I was making this: a mix of the bright peppermint flavor with the sweetness of the chocolate.  It didn't take long for my supervisors to show up underfoot, starring longingly up at the counter!

I can't wait for the bark to set up so I can break it into chunks and give it a try!  This will make a nice gift as well, in pretty baggies - that is, if any makes it past my family...

Thanks for the inspiration and the recipe, Rita!